Emily Chan
In the vast, rocky Atbai Desert located in Eastern Sudan, the discovery of prehistoric rock art indicates that the region was once lush, green, and filled with water and other resources that animals need to survive.
The Atbai Desert is part of the Sahara Desert. The artwork dates back to around 4,000 years ago, which means that the desert went through some huge changes just over the past few millennia.
During 2018 and 2019, archaeologists from Macquarie University were conducting fieldwork as part of the Atbai Survey Project.
The project aims to study the relationship between Indigenous nomads and Egyptian and Nubian cultures who journeyed into the desert.
The team of researchers was led by Dr. Julien Cooper, and the details of their findings are published in the Journal of Egyptian Archaeology.
They identified 16 different rock art sites near Wadi Halfa, a city in northern Sudan that is not far from the border with Egypt.
They found depictions of humans and various animals, including antelopes, elephants, giraffes, and cattle.
The latter is surprising because cattle graze in pastures, and the Atbai Desert has always been known as a dry and arid region.
Today, the desert receives little to no annual rainfall, making it impossible to raise cattle successfully. But as recently as 3000 B.C.E., cattle farming was a daily part of life in the area, as shown by the rock art.
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